A Tokyo official announces on Saturday the Japanese forces will join this year’s joint Balikatan military exercises between the Philippines and the United States.
At a press briefing in Malacañang, Japanese Foreign Press Secretary Tasuhisa Kawamura said “for this year’s Balikatan, the Japanese Self-Defense Force is going to attend,” noting that there is no date yet for this year’s Balikatan.
Normally, Japan only sends military personnel to Balikatan only as observers.
“Japan will continue to cooperate – promote the cooperation in the defense area, including capacity building and equipment, and training and exercises and so on,” he added.
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